NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, January 11th
The RotoGrinders NHL Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the NHL schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit. While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy hockey there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, salaries, and more.
The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. Hockey is an extremely high variance sport. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.
Remember, these writeups are done prior to lineups being released, so make sure to check our Starting Lineups page to ensure the recommended options are playing.
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Florida Panthers at New York Islanders
| Florida Panthers | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | James Reimer |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 18-16-8 | 15-15-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.26 | 2.57 | 15.00% | 85.10% | Team Stats | 2.76 | 3.00 | 14.80% | 79.80% |
The Florida Panthers started their brief two game road trip with a 3-0 win at New Jersey on Monday night. Tonight they will face an Islander team that is sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference with a 15-15-8 record. The Panthers are trying to climb the standings in the Atlantic Division as their 44 points are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for fourth place just two points from third place Ottawa. They have switched up the lines for tonight’s game as Colton Sceviour will now skate on the top line with Vincent Trocheck and Jaromir Jagr while Jonathan Marchessault takes his team leading 12 goals down to the second line to skate with Jussi Jokinen and Reilly Smith. This would make Marchessault a decent one-off play here as the second line will not see as much pressure as the Jagr line. Marchessault also pulls double duty on the top power play unit that has scored four goals over the last six games. Trocheck and Jagr have been the go to line since the injury to Aleksander Barkov and have done okay since Christmas Eve as they have combined for four goals and six assists in the six games they have played since then. That’s not bad when you consider that the Panthers as a team have only netted 13 goals over that time period. Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad are the defensive choices and it’s the same old story. Ekblad leads the team in shots over the last six games with 23 while Yandle’s three points beat Ekblad’s one. This is how it has been all season so since the Panthers haven’t been scoring many goals maybe you are better off taking the guy who at least gets a lot of shots on net.
As mentioned above The Islanders have been so bad that even John Tavares had to come out and say he wasn’t giving up on this pitiful team. Tavares leads the team in points with 11 goals and 16 assists while his line mates in Anders Lee and Josh Bailey lead the team in goals and assists respectively. This is the line to target tonight for obvious reasons but even more so because of the small slate that the NHL has given us tonight. Brock Nelson could be used as a one-off as he skates on the second line with Shane Prince and Anthony Beauvillier as he clocks in with 23 points which is good for third place on the Islanders scoring chart. Ryan Strome has seen some top line power play action from the third line and has responded with four points in the last five games. Nick Leddy still gets the extra ice time while quarterbacking a power play unit that has scored five times in the last seven games. Leddy has recorded half of his 16 points when the Islanders had the extra attacker. The pickings are slim in this game tonight so use some kind of discretion when making your cash game line ups tonight.
Elite Plays
FLA: None
NYI: None
Secondary Plays
FLA: Jonathan Marchessault, Jaromir Jagr, Vincent Trocheck, Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad
NYI: John Tavares, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome, Nick Leddy, Brock Nelson
Montréal Canadiens at Winnipeg Jets
| Montréal Canadiens | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Carey Price |  | Connor Hellebuyck | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-10-6 | 20-20-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.02 | 2.34 | 21.20% | 79.50% | Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.91 | 16.80% | 77.60% |
You will need to buy a program if you want to keep up with all the injuries and line changes that the Canadiens have made over the last month or so, but yet they keep on winning. The top line of Max Pacioretty, Phillip Danault and Alexander Radulov has been asked to pick up most of the slack and have responded as best as one could expect as Pacioretty and Radulov have combined for nine goals and seven assists over the last six games. The question now is does the Winnipeg Jets have a line strong enough to contain them? Thomas Plekanec, Sven Andrighetto and and Artturi Lehkonen aren’t exactly household names but they will have to do as Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, David Desharnais and Andrew Shaw continue to heal from the injuries they have sustained. Michael McCarron will jump up and play on the top power play unit that has scored five goals in the last three games. McCarron has tallied four points in the 12 games he has suited up but should be worth a look here as he gets exposure to the top two scoring leaders on the team. Shea Weber is the play on the back line as he leads the team with 14 power play points while quarterbacking the top power play unit. Weber has also tallied seven of his 26 points over the last six games which makes him one of the more elite options on tonight’s small slate. Nathan Beaulieu can also be used as a punt play here he skates next to Weber on the top power play unit. I call him a punt play because of his salary but in reality he has been very solid of late as his six points in the last six games can attest to. Montreal may run into a bit of trouble tonight as the Jets have given up just nine goals in the last four games.
Winnipeg comes into this one without the services of Patrik Laine who leads the team with 21 goals so far this season. Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele will be joined on the top line by Drew Stafford while Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little will skate with Mathieu Perreault. Scheifele and Ehlers are the best bets here however as they not only lead the team with 37 points apiece, they also get the extra ice time when the Jets have the man advantage. Little and Perreault join them on the power play that has seen the Jets score four goals over the last six games. Wheeler makes for a good one-off play here as he has recorded six of his 33 points over the last six games. When someone like Laine gets hurt its guys like Wheeler that have to step up. Yes, I know Wheeler was always the guy over the past few years but with the emergence of Ehlers and Scheifele, he seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Don’t forget about him. The only problem that the Jets would have run into tonight is goaltender Carey Price as he has won 20 times so far this season, but with Al Montoya starting for Montreal I would feel a bit more confident going to the Winnipeg side for your forwards tonight. Dustin Byfuglien leads the team with 127 shots on goal and is always a defenseman to consider when the Jets are in action. Byfuglien has tallied 25 points so far this season but the bigger surprise over the last week or so has been Jacob Trouba. His five points over the last six games now give him 13 points in the 28 games he has played in. Winnipeg needs to keep winning to stay in the playoff race because as of right now, they wouldn’t be in if they started today.
Elite Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers
Secondary Plays
MTL: Shea Weber, Phillip Danault, Nathan Beaulieu
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Jacob Trouba
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-8-5 | 26-9-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.51 | 2.77 | 22.60% | 79.80% | Team Stats | 2.85 | 2.00 | 16.90% | 86.80% |
The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to inch closer to the Eastern Conference leading Columbus Blue Jackets as they take on the Capitals here in Washington tonight. The Penguins are back to full strength as defenseman Kris Letang returned from injury two games ago and it looked like he hadn’t missed a beat as he quickly tallied a goal and two assists. He is the choice on the back line as he quarterbacks the top power play unit that has netted four goals over the last five games. Sidney Crosby is always a good one-off play but now his talent seems to be helping out line mate Conor Sheary as well. Sheary has tallied 24 points in 32 games while Bryan Rust has recorded 17 points so far this season. Evgeni Malkin leads the team with 27 assists and is just one point away from Crosby’s team leading 44 points as he skates on the second line with power play line mate Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin. Phil Kessel rounds out the top power play unit that has tallied four goals in the last five games as he skates with Chris Kunitz and Nick Bonino. It has always been Kessel’s hallmark to take a lot of shots and be up there for the team lead in goals, which he is with 13, but it is very rare to see him have twice as many assists as he has goals, which is the case here. Although it is probably not fresh in their minds I am sure that Pittsburgh at least remembers the last time these two teams met back on November 16th when the Capitals boat raced the by a score of 7-1 in this very same building.
The Capitals will try to improve on their six game winning streak tonight against a Pittsburgh team that has a five game streak of their own going. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie will be the line to target tonight as they also get over 65% of the ice time when the Capitals draw a penalty. Backstrom leads the team in assists with 24 while Ovechkin’s 19 goals has him tied for seventh in the league. Oshi has missed a few games but has managed 20 points in the 32 games he has suited up for. The second line of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson has been the most productive Washington line over the past few weeks. Kuznetsov has found the score sheet nines time over the past six games while Williams is right behind him with three goals and five assists. Johansson makes for a fine one-off play here as he is the one who moves up to the top power play unit with Ovechkin and Company. Johansson has been no slouch this year as he is third in the team in points with 14 goals and 15 assists while registering eight of those points while Washington had the man advantage. John Carlson completes the top power play unit from the back line and should be targeted for your cash game plays tonight. As with the other three games on the slate tonight, there doesn’t seem to be a clear cut winner so maybe getting a piece of every game is the way to go tonight.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom
Secondary Plays
PIT: Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist, Conor Sheary
WSH: Marcus Johansson, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams, John Carlson
San Jose Sharks at Calgary Flames
| San Jose Sharks | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Aaron Dell |  | Brian Elliott | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-14-2 | 22-19-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.58 | 2.25 | 16.40% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.74 | 20.30% | 82.00% |
Backed by a Mikkel Boedker hat trick last night the San Jose Sharks were able to keep pace in the Pacific Division by downing the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 5-3. The Sharks head over to Calgary to take on a Flames team that has won four of their last five home games and are fourth in the division with 46 points. Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Timo Meier skate on the top line as Paveski makes for s decent one-off play here as he has lit the lamp 15 times so far this season while assisting on 23 other goals. Thornton leads the team in assists with 24 and joins Pavelski on the team’s top power play unit. Logan Couture centers the second line with Kevin Labanc and Joonas Donskoi should be considered for tournament play with Couture leading the way with 26 points which is good for third on the team. Labanc has snare three points over the last five games while Donskoi has netted two goals over that same time period. Patrick Marleau joins Couture, Pavelski and Thornton on the team’s top power play unit as he skates on the third line with Chris Tierney and Joel Ward. Marleau has lit the lamp twice and has two other assists over the last five games. Brent Burns is the clear cut chalk defensemen of the night as he leads the team in goals, assists, points and shots while quarterbacking the top power play unit. Just when you think he has to go into some sort of slump he comes out a registers eight points in the last five games. A lot of people don’t like to pay his salary but if you think about it, isn’t it better to have a forward as your punt plat than a defenseman? Not many defensemen have a big enough upside than a forward when you are dumpster diving. Consider that Boedkker’s hat trick last night could have paid of nicely much like Colton Scevior and Colton Sissons did when they had their three goal games earlier in the year. I guess my point is that paying up for a defenseman that racks up the points is not nearly as bad as trying to catch lightning in a bottle.
Calgary will try to improve on their 11-10 record on home ice tonight as they take on the San Jose Sharks. As mentioned above, San Jose played last night in Edmonton so hopefully that will give the Flames a bit of an edge tonight as they try to knock of a Sharks team that is 11-9-1 away from the home crowd. Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Alex Chiasson are the team’s and should be considered for tournament play as they also take the ice when the Flames draw a penalty. The Flames power play has scored six times over the last five games and that could bode well against a team that has let up a goal in four of the five games that the Sharks have been in a back-to-back situation. Mikael Backlund centers the second line with Michael Frolik and Matthew Tkachuk that has score six of the Flames last 14 goals. Backlund has upped his game this year as he is tied for the team lead with 27 points. We must take this with a grain of salt however as Gaudreau has found the score sheet 27 times as well, but he has only played in 33 games while Backlund has played in 43 games. Kris Versteeg jumps up from the third line to play next to Gaudreau when the Flames have the man advantage. Versteeg has managed 18 points in the 31 points he has played in so far this season. T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton are the defensive selections that the Calgary Flames present to us. Brodie gets the top power play minutes while Giordano has registered ten of his 18 points while skating on the team’s second power play unit. Dougie Hamilton however leads the defense in scoring with six goals and 17 assists on 122 shots on goal.
Elite Plays
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
Secondary Plays
SJ: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Kevin Labanc
CGY: Mikale Backlund, Sean Monahan, Alex Chiasson, Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie